Ariel Helwani - Renzo Gracie isn't going away quickly.
Days after UFC president Dana White publicly questioned why the MMA legend would consider fighting again, Gracie gave MMAFighting.com a simple, yet powerful response. A Renzo Gracie response.
"For having nothing to prove nor nothing to gain," Gracie (13-7-1, 1 NC) said when asked why he wants to fight again. "To fight for what it is without reason, without greed, just for the passion to step once again in the arena and be an inspiration for a future generation of great fighters. To prove that age is only a handicap for the soft ones.
And above all, because I love it."
Gracie's last fight was a third-round TKO loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 112 in April 2010. Since then, he has flirted with the idea of a comeback but has never sounded this intent on coming back. The 46-year-old is gunning for a February 2014 return, and if the UFC doesn't want him, he knows someone else will.
"My man, I'm fighting," he said. "It doesn't matter where. Even for free.
"Last time I checked I didn't have wrinkles. Not even on my nut sack."
That line, of course, was a nod to one of Gracie's most memorable pre-fight interviews prior to his 2005 fight against B.J. Penn.
He has always had a way with words, but he turned to Friedrich Nietzsche, of all people, to fully explain why he believes White doesn't understand where he is coming from right now.
Gracie texted this Nietzche quote during our conversation: "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
The music is apparently calling for Renzo Gracie to dance again.
